AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Rally Back But Fall to Amerks, 4-3, in Shootout

January 7, 2017 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Mike Halmo and Erik Condra tallied unanswered goals for the Syracuse Crunch in the third period to rally back and force overtime, but the team was unable to overcome the Rochester Americans in a shootout and fell, 4-3, tonight at the Blue Cross Arena.

Despite the loss, the Crunch picked up one point and move to 18-9-0-5 with a .641 points percentage. Syracuse also holds a 5-1-0-1 lead in the 10-game season series with Rochester.

Crunch goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis made 15 saves and stopped 2-of-3 shootout attempts. Linus Ullmark stopped 36 shots and all three shootout attempts between the pipes for the Amerks. Both teams went 1-for-4 on the power play.

The Amerks were first to strike on their first shot of the game 8:06 into the contest. Vaclav Karabacek kept the puck in the zone at the blue line and passed for Kyle Bonis to solve Gudlevskis from the left wing side. Five minutes later, Rochester doubled their lead when Daniel Muzito-Bagenda wrapped around the back of the cage and found an opening.

With three minutes remaining in the opening frame, Matt Taormina stole one back on the power play. Adam Comrie sent a feed from the left boards for Taormina to one-time from the high slot. Cory Conacher earned the secondary assist.

The Amerks regained a two-goal lead 1:08 into the second period. With a 5-on-3 advantage, Evan Rodrigues passed to the left wing for Nick Baptiste to send home from a sharp angle. Cole Schneider recorded a point on the tally.

The Crunch came back to tie the game and force overtime with two unanswered goals in the final stanza. After a successful forecheck, Halmo stole the puck at the end boards, cut around a defender and backhanded it into the net at the 2:23 mark. Halfway through the period, Condra got in front of the defense, jumped over Ullmark who came out of his crease, and scored while shorthanded, 4-on-3.

The teams remained knotted through the overtime period and went into a shootout. Cal O'Reilly scored the only goal in the first round to give Rochester the win.

The Crunch return to the War Memorial Arena to host the St. John's IceCaps tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Syracuse Crunch single game and ticket packages for the 2016-17 season are on sale now and can be purchased either in person at the Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse or by calling the office at 315-473-4444. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch) using #SyrCrunch, #WeAreOne and #BLUnited.

Crunchables: Matt Taormina and Mike Halmo join Yanni Gourde with a team-high 10 goals this season...Tonight is the seventh time the Crunch have held an opponent to fewer than 20 shots...The Crunch are 3-for-17 in shootout attempts this year. They have a 1-5 in shootout record.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2017


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